Author: Anadolu Agency

US special envoy Keith Kellogg’s visit to Ukraine has accelerated talks of a minerals deal, Bloomberg claimed in its report on Friday. Ukrainian and US negotiators are working to finalize a deal on critical minerals, the media outlet reported, citing a person familiar with the talks. Thursday’s meeting with Kellogg had “restored hope,” said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Meanwhile, Kellogg said on X that discussions with Zelenskyy and his “talented national security team” were “extensive and positive.” The US proposal, which involves securing 50% of license sales and other proceeds from Ukraine’s minerals, was initially rejected by Kyiv. Zelenskyy directed…

Taking a jab at President Donald Trump following a win against the US in a hockey game on Thursday, Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said: “You can’t take our country.” “You can’t take our country — and you can’t take our game,” Trudeau said on X on Friday, referencing Trump’s earlier remark suggesting Canada could become the “51st state” of the US. In a Truth Social post on Thursday, Trump said Canada “will someday, maybe soon, become our cherished, and very important, Fifty First State” due to “FAR LOWER TAXES AND MUCH STRONGER SECURITY.” Ahead of the game, Trump also…

Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares warned on Friday that a “mere ceasefire” in Ukraine would only “serve to allow Russia to rearm,” reaffirming Madrid’s commitment to “fair and long-lasting peace.” “For us, peace in Ukraine must be much more than a ceasefire. It must be a fair peace that respects democracy, freedom, and the sovereignty of Ukraine. It must be long-lasting,” Albares told Spanish television channel La Sexta from the G20 summit in South Africa. “It cannot be a mere ceasefire that may even serve to allow Russia to take a breather, to rearm itself … and then in…

The BBC has removed its documentary Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone from iPlayer after it was revealed that its teenage narrator is the son of a Hamas official. The broadcaster stated that it is conducting “further due diligence” following mounting scrutiny. The film, which aired on BBC Two on Monday, follows 13-year-old Abdullah Al-Yazouri as he describes life in Gaza. However, it later emerged that his father, Ayman Alyazouri, serves as Hamas’s deputy minister of agriculture. In a statement on Friday, the BBC defended the documentary’s value but acknowledged concerns. “There have been continuing questions raised about the programme,…

Germany declared Friday that Ukraine must take part in future peace negotiations while reaffirming its commitment to supporting Kyiv until a just peace is achieved. German and Ukrainian leaders spoke on the phone about the current military and humanitarian situation in Ukraine, as well as potential paths to a just peace there, Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s spokesman said in a statement. “The Chancellor and President Zelenskyy agreed that Ukraine must be at the table in future negotiations on peace,” Steffen Hebestreit said, adding that “questions about European security must be discussed together with the Europeans.” He noted that Chancellor Scholz and…

Lithuania’s President Gitanas Nauseda on Friday supported US President Donald Trump’s criticism of NATO, urging Europe to double their defense spending. “I agree with the US criticism that the burden is not shared fairly at the moment. The US is carrying the lion’s share of the burden related to NATO’s budget. Europe must contribute at least twice as much as it does now,” Nauseda told journalists in Vilnius on Friday, according to the Baltic News Service. During his first term at the Oval Office, Trump had urged the European leaders to increase their defense spending. Following his reelection in 2024,…

Sen. Thom Tillis called Russian President Vladimir Putin as a “cancer” after US President Donald Trump criticized his Ukrainian counterpart over the ongoing war. “Look, I’m a Republican, I support President Trump, and I believe that most of his policies on national security are right. I believe his instincts are pretty good. “But what I’m telling you: Whoever believes that there is any space for Vladimir Putin in the future of a stable globe better go to Ukraine. They better go to Europe; they better invest the time to understand that this man is a cancer and the greatest threat…

Apple on Friday announced it will remove its highest level of data security, Advanced Data Protection (ADP), for users in the UK following government demands for access to encrypted user data. The decision, described by Apple as “gravely disappointing,” means that UK customers will no longer be able to activate the feature, which provides end-to-end encryption for data stored in iCloud. Existing users who have already enabled the feature will see it disabled at a later date, though Apple has not specified when. The move follows a demand from the UK Home Office earlier this month under the Investigatory Powers…

US President Donald Trump said Friday that Russian President Vladimir Putin does not need to make a deal with Ukraine. “He doesn’t have to make a deal, because if he wanted, he’d get the whole country,” Trump said during an interview with Fox News Radio. The comments come ahead of an expected second round of negotiations aimed at ending Russia’s three-year war on Ukraine. An initial round of bilateral talks held in Saudi Arabia concluded Tuesday with the Kremlin and Washington agreeing to continue work on efforts to bring the war to an end. Trump said Zelenskyy has been at…

A US jury has found Hadi Matar, the man who stabbed author Salman Rushdie in 2022, guilty of attempted murder following an eight-day trial, according to US media. During the trial, Rushdie testified that he initially thought he was being punched but soon realized he was bleeding heavily, NBC News reported. “But I saw a large quantity of blood pouring onto my clothes,” Rushdie was quoted as saying. “He was hitting me repeatedly. Hitting and slashing.” Prosecutors reportedly argued that the attack was intentional, presenting slow-motion video footage to emphasize its targeted nature. Matar’s lawyer contended that there was no…